Jim Souhan: Lynx need more threes, more D if they are going to advance to WNBA Finals

Jim Souhan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Oct 6, 2024

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As Minnesota sports fans know, when it comes to big games, you never want to leave with regrets.

The other team plays better and you lose? That’s part of high-level athletics. You lose because of a silly mistake, a strategical error, a lack of nerve, or because you didn’t play the way you’re capable of playing? Those losses haunt, but only for forever.

Sunday afternoon, the Lynx took a seven-point lead into halftime, then might as well have headed home from Connecticut.

They scored only 13 points in the third quarter, and they didn’t hit a three-pointer in the second half until less than three minutes remained in what would become a 92-82 loss to the Sun in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.

Game 5 will be Tuesday night at Target Center. It should be a blast … unless the Lynx play like they have in two pivotal quarters of this series.

In Game 1 of the best-of-five series at home, the Lynx produced perhaps their worst quarter of the season, scoring only eight points in the final 10 minutes and losing 73-70.

In Game 4, with a chance to end the series, the Lynx scored 13 points in the third quarter, then 19 points in the fourth.

In that pivotal third quarter, the Lynx went 0 for 6 from the three-point line. From the start of the second half until Bridget Carleton hit a three with 2:16 remaining in the game, the Lynx went 0 for 10 from three.

This team’s success is built on a formula that could be denoted as 3-D-Phee.

The Lynx led the league in three-point shooting percentage. They excelled at team defense. And “Phee” — star forward Napheesa Collier — finished second in league MVP voting while performing well all over the court.

She might have been the league’s true MVP. Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson had a better statistical profile, but she didn’t elevate her team this season the way Collier did.

Sunday’s game was a reminder that Collier usually gets plenty of help, which is why the Lynx became the surprise of the league this season.

Sunday, her fellow starters weren’t good enough.

Carleton, one of the most improved players in the league, went 2 for 11 from the floor, with all of her shots coming from the three-point line.

Kayla McBride, the only Lynx player who joined Collier as an All-Star this year, went 2 for 6 from the floor, producing just five points.

Natisha Hiedeman was the only Lynx bench player who made an impact, scoring 16 points.

For all the granular analysis of modern basketball, there is no substitute for simply making baskets. Most of the Lynx failed at that most basic task on Sunday.

“We got 26 threes,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said on Zoom. “Regardless of who got them, we got 26 threes. That was good. I can’t think of a three that we took that I didn’t like.”

While winning Games 2 and 3 of the series, the Lynx had admirably matched the Sun’s patented intensity. Connecticut plays and emotes with an edge. McBride, in particular, had responded with physical play and taunts.

Sunday, Connecticut was the aggressor again. At one point, 37-year-old Sun star DeWanna Bonner exchanged words with Reeve from the court.

“Just, emotions are high and both teams want to win,” Bonner said. “It’s not serious, at least not for me. I just want to win. I’m old. Both teams want it really bad.”

There is no doubt about that. The Lynx didn’t lack effort, just their usual efficiency.

When asked how to handle postseason pressure, Bonner said, “You’ve really got to breathe, because you can really overdo it and overcomplicate things.”

Sun guard Tyasha Harris said: “It’s just poise. We have vets who instill that in us and stay calm — and hit big shots.”

Do the Lynx have what it takes to calm their nerves, match Connecticut’s aggression and hit those high-value shots on Tuesday night?

We’ll find out if they can reconnect their 3, D and Phee.

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